My partner and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Highgate with Clydesdale. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Clydesdale had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

Can I use your services to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Highgate even if I’m not buying or disposing of a house, for instance where I want to buy a shop in Highgate with a loan from The Mortgage Works?

The service is predominantly utilised to get a quote from domestic conveyancing solicitors in Highgate but we have listed towards the bottom of this page a few Highgate commercial conveyancing firms. You should enquire with the solicitors directly to see if they are also authorised to represent The Mortgage Works

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Highgate I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Highgate in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Highgate. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Highgate.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Highgate. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Highgate conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Highgate flat is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 67.85 years.

Is planning permission required to change a single dwelling into two appartments in Highgate? This has occurred to a property adjacent to my house in Highgate and was unaware of it happening until it was done.

Planning consent is required for splitting a single house in Highgate into flats but possibly not for reverting once again to single dwelling-house so, simply put, yes,a it is required.